Walk it Off
by TheMoonclaw
Summary: Healing was sometimes necessary, though personally Izayoi was more of a 'walk it off' type of person. TAY in-game.


**This was an idea rattling around in my brain and I needed the practice to get back into the swing of writting.**

**I like what Mythweaver said about Izayoi being Edge's cousin isn't cannon, it's just something her and I adhere too. But let me add that since she and I are the most active IV writers on the site currently, it might as well be law.**

**Also? Emag siht nwo ton od I - (If you take the time to read that backwards, you may have too much spare time on your hands)**

* * *

Izayoi had no one to blame for her current predicament but herself. In a moment of foolish compassion, she had volunteered to switch places with her cousin so that he could be in a much more agreeable group as they searched the underground tunnels of the moon.

Logically, she knew that Edge plus this group of people would prove a bad combination, and besides, what did Izayoi care who she ended up walking beside?

She cared now.

Another spell ricocheted through the confined passage and crumbled part of a wall just to her left.

She glared at the person next to her, annoyed by his lack of help in this battle at all. In fact, she was spending more time trying to keep herself from accidentally killing him then she was attacking the Maenad that threatened them.

Izayoi didn't mind people who couldn't or wouldn't fight. Everyone had a choice in life of what they wanted to do. What bothered her were the people who got in her way when she was trying to do her job.

Why the bard king of Damcyan was even here, she didn't know. At the moment, she cursed her cousin for being, as always, the lucky one.

"_I'd give anything to trade groups_!" she thought angrily, ducking behind a boulder as the Maenad's latest spell, one with fire, shot towards them.

The bard let out a squeak and Izayoi rolled her eyes, standing in an attempt to at least put up a fight against the almost robotic blue haired woman.

But Kain beat her to it and impaled the witch, ending her life instantly as she crumbled to the ground wordlessly.

Izayoi heaved a sigh and glanced at the king of Damcyan, frowning, as he complained about some burns he'd received.

"_You didn't even do anything_!" she wanted to snap, although she just glared at him.

Rosa, the final member of their little traveling group, catered to him no matter what ridiculous injury he sustained and she knelt down this time too, casting a few spells.

They had encountered only two Maenads on their trip, and Izayoi was under the impression that if they had found more, they might be on the right path. As it was now, she thought it best to head back and join the others. This scouting mission was over in her mind.

But she'd already voiced that idea and gotten shot down.

She still wasn't sure who was in charge in this haphazard group. No one, as far as she could tell, and that just irritated her more.

Edward or Gilbert or Chris Von Muir or whatever part of his obnoxiously long name he was going by today didn't seem like he could be in charge of anything. Rosa was a healer, and despite her statues as queen, she seemed a little too flighty to be a leader.

And Kain, well, he never actually said anything. In fact, he was so dull that she kept forgetting he was around.

"We should head back," she mentioned as Rosa finished healing their wounded companion. "I haven't seen any evidence that this is the right way."

"But, we've barely started exploring," Edward said, looking down one of the darkened passages.

Izayoi stared at him flatly.

Rosa appeared thoughtful, and Izayoi marveled that somehow, the woman hadn't managed to get her white gown dirty yet.

"_That's what happens when you don't do anything_," she thought bitterly, impatiently tapping her fingers against her leg.

The queen glanced at Kain, "What do you think?"

He shrugged and made some sound that might have been an answer.

Izayoi rolled her eyes.

Rosa sighed, "Maybe just a little longer. The sighting of a Maenad makes me think there must be something down here."

"She came from behind. They are following us," Izayoi argued.

Rosa pursed her lips and glanced both ways, but then started walking further into the tunnel, "I just…have a feeling we should keep going."

Izayoi tipped her head back and groaned in annoyance. A feeling? Since when did people run off to get themselves killed because of a feeling?

Scratch that, she knew plenty of people who did such a thing. Still, it grated on her nerves and she sheathed her katana before begrudgingly following them onward.

A warm spot on her arm made her glance down and, even in the dim lighting, she could see a line of blood pooling where an attack had ripped her sleeve.

The wound was hardly anything to complain about, but it would prove to be a problem if it festered.

Izayoi knew a few healing spells but she preferred to keep what magical energy she had in reserve for more combative spells.

Besides, she was more of a 'walk it off' type of person. If you could still move, then it wasn't serious.

So, instead she pulled the small flask she always carried from her belt and dumped nearly the entire contents of it over her arm.

The alcohol stung like hell, but it would sterilize the wound and that was all she cared about. What was left in the bottom of the flask went straight to her lips as those ahead started talking.

She could use the diversion.

In taking care of her arm, she hadn't been paying attention and ran into Kain, who had stopped in the middle of the path.

She sighed in annoyance and glared at him, forcibly pushing her way past while snapping, "Excuse you,"

He just shot her a look and muttered, "Mm."

She was beginning to hate that sound. It seemed that was the only thing he was capable of saying, even if it barely counted as words.

Oh, she had heard plenty of stories about him from her cousin, and countless jokes had been made at his expense, and now Izayoi felt no remorse for any of them.

The reason for Kain's abrupt halt came into view as she moved past him; the floor gave way to an impassable chasm.

Izayoi's gaze shifted to Rosa, who stood staring at the hole in the ground, "I suppose this answers our question. We'll head back and join up with everyone else."

Before anyone could move, there was a sound from behind them and they turned, seeing that another Maenad had appeared from behind them. Like all the others, she instantly charged a spell and with no where to go, they were in a tight bind.

There was nothing they could do and in a flurry of magic, everything went dark.

* * *

Izayoi groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing her head. The ground was rocky and everything was dark, but she could hear similar sounds from the rest of the group, proving that they had all survived the attack.

"Is everyone alright?" Rosa called through the gloom.

They all muttered phrases, although Izayoi noted Kain's favorite sound of "Mm," returned.

Izayoi stood and looked around the space, letting her eyes adjust to the area before running her hands along the wall closest to her. Her fingers brushed over something cold and metallic and she paused, brow furrowing, before retracing her touch and tapping against the piece.

The room burst into greenish light as wires, similar to those in the passages above, lit up and spiraled around the base of the ground, embedded in the rock.

"Oh!" Rosa exclaimed, coming to stand beside her and study the panel she had touched.

Izayoi frowned and noticed that a series of the wires disappeared into a tunnel further away, though the light didn't reach all the way to the top of the cavity.

She glanced over her shoulder at Kain, who was looking upwards. "Can't you just jump out of here?"

He shifted his gaze to her but it was Rosa who answered, "It's not a good idea to jump when you can't see the ceiling."

Izayoi bit-back a smart comment in reply and just set her hands on her hips, wanting someone else to come up with an idea for a change.

The bard whined about something and Rosa moved over to him, taking a look at his ankle when he told her it hurt.

"Just walk it off," Izayoi said, throwing up her hands, "It doesn't look broken."

Rosa frowned at her, "Continuing to do activities while wounded can make the injuries more severe."

She sighed and turned away, noticing that Kain had just dumped something over the back of his hand, dowsing a gash. She expected to see it heal slightly from the use of a potion, but instead she smelled liquor and raised an eyebrow at him.

He just stared back impassively.

"_Well, at least I'm not the only one who does that._"

Rosa helped Edward to his feet just as he mentioned, "Oh, Tellah is chiding us for our mistake."

Kain rolled his eyes and Izayoi frowned.

_Supposedly_ the king of Damcyan had been seeing an apparition of the dead sage, Tellah, since all this insanity with the new moon had started. Izayoi just wondered how many people were loosing their minds around here as of late.

Rosa pointed off to the semi-lit tunnel, "I think our only option is to continue forth and hope this path slopes upwards. I loathe the idea to merely stay here and hope for rescue."

Rescue was a slim hope indeed.

This network of tunnels and passages were like a maze, and now that they had fallen into another section, their chances of ever getting out had been cut in half.

Izayoi decided against voicing this fact out loud.

"Do you agree?" the queen asked, glancing at Kain.

He nodded, "Mm."

They started to move forward, and Izayoi brushed a smudge of dirt off her cheek as she sheathed her weapon again. The trip would not be pleasant, she was sure.

The path they found themselves in was tight, and more often then not they had to walk single file. Izayoi always took up the back position. She didn't trust any of these people to watch her back.

She cursed her cousin again.

"_Lucky bastard_," she complained inwardly, more mad at herself then anything. She could be a in a group with Rydia, Yang and Ursula instead. All people she happened to get along with and who at least understood the way a battle worked.

As they passed into a wider tunnel, Izayoi felt a chill run up her spine and she carefully slid her katana free, glancing around into the darkness. The lighted wires didn't cover the full width of the room, and that left quite a few places where the shadows seemed to ripple.

She narrowed her eyes and tapped Rosa on the shoulder to draw her attention, "Something is in here,"

The queen nodded, "I feel it too, but where-"

Izayoi pushed her out of the way and barely dodged the attack herself. A boney hand had broken out of the ground and attempted to capture them with its long, talon-like fingers. The hand disappeared in a ghostly fashion and Izayoi looked around, "What the hell was that?"

"Some sort of phantom," Rosa replied, slowly pulling an arrow from the quiver at her side, "But…where did it go?"

The monster reappeared seconds later out of thin air, hovering in front of them although the form was transparent. The monster was indeed a phantom, and its actual form was hard to make out, but its eyes flashed red.

An obviously arcane spell coiled around Damcyan's king and he fell to the ground as the monster faded from sight again.

Rosa was already chanting while Izayoi frowned, "I hate monsters who are cowards,"

Edward sat up a few moments later, and since the monster showed no signs of returning, they waited while he recovered fully.

"Why do the monsters always go for me!" he complained.

Kain, finally deciding to speak, muttered, "Monsters go for the weakest first."

Rosa frowned at him, but Izayoi stifled a chuckle, agreeing completely. She had nothing against the man, but he was no match for anything they were dealing with.

The king frowned, "Tellah would seem to agree with you."

Plus, he was a fruitcake.

Izayoi sighed and looked around, "Whatever that thing was, it appears to be gone. We should move on."

As she finished speaking, Rosa swayed on her feet and reached out to catch herself on a nearby wall.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, standing up slowly now that he had been healed again.

She nodded, "Oh, I'm fine. I'm just a little light headed."

"You're out of magic reserves." Kain contradicted, glancing over his shoulder at her.

The queen appeared to hesitate and then relented, "Not entirely."

Izayoi had to admit that the woman had been using a lot of her magic since they'd spilt from the rest of the group. The first battle with the Maenad she had ended up casting reflect on all of them to make the battle easier, and then float so the Maenad's attempt to spilt the ground open would fail. Plus, every few minutes she was healing what's-his-name.

"I'm fine." Rosa insisted, standing upright again, "However we should get moving in case that ghost is stalking about."

Kain didn't seem convinced, although all he said was, "Mm,"

It wasn't long after they left the room that the ghost returned. In fact, he chased them through a few passages before vanishing again.

As Rosa used the last of her magic to heal a few burns they had received from his thunder spells, she fell against the wall again.

"You're out of magic," Izayoi told her, setting her hand on her shoulder and forcing her to sit down on a nearby boulder.

The queen nodded, "I-I know, but if I must, I can continue casting."

Kain made a face at that, and Edward shook his head, "Such a thing would be a terrible idea!"

Izayoi shrugged, "We will be fine without your spells. People get so used to have a mage around they think every little thing has to be treated. Sometimes you just have to keep going."

Rosa squirmed uneasily at that comment, but they were interrupted by the phantom shimmering into view. Like always, they lashed out at him but Rosa's arrows went straight through him and their weapons didn't draw blood.

Izayoi groaned in frustration at the lack of success and skidded to a halt, mid attack, to gather elemental forces enough to lash out with a spell of her own. The ghost faded, slipping through the rocky ground, just as her spell finished crystallizing the place where he'd been.

She glared at it for a moment and then wandered over; noticing a piece of the creature's purple cloak had remained, frozen in the ice.

She smirked, "_Ah, so you can be caught_!"

Now it was just a matter of timing.

* * *

Since the phantom was always gone for a few minutes between attacks, Kain suggested that they wait here and he would check on the two possible routes before them and see which looked the most promising.

Besides, Rosa looked deathly pale and Edward was cradling his arm as if something had happened to it.

Izayoi realized she didn't care and turned away from them to frown at Kain, "I should come with you,"

"And leave those two unattended?" he asked, tipping his head in their direction.

Her frowned deepened, "True, but I still think you going alone is a bad idea."

"Maybe Tellah's ghost will follow me."

She blinked and her lips twitch slightly, "A joke?"

"Mm."

Izayoi wrinkled her nose, "You do that a lot,"

"What?" Kain asked.

She shook her head slightly, "Make that sound when you want to avoid a conversation."

"Usually I just jump away, but, you know, cave ceiling," he said, gesturing to the low clearance above them.

Izayoi gave him a funny look and he sighed, "Never mind."

She turned to head back to the resting royalty, only calling back, "Be careful," as an afterthought.

Not that it mattered, as all she received in reply was another; "Mm."

She rolled her eyes.

* * *

This ghost was grating on Izayoi's last nerve. Her attempts to freeze the creature had resulted in nothing but a few pieces of captured clothing and one boney finger. Rosa's energy was so low she couldn't even pull the string back on her bow anymore and Edward, well, he was doing a good job hiding.

His music had no effect on the creature as Izayoi suspected the thing didn't have ears.

Kain's lance was hardly useful either, but he had scored a few hits on it.

Another spell was unleashed and she fell as pieces of rock splintered outward from the bolt that struck the ground. As she hit the wall, it spilt from another strike of lighting and she fell to the ground, landing on her right arm at an awkward angle and with a loud snap.

"Damn," she muttered, cradling the arm to her and using her left hand to push herself upright into time to see the phantom disappear.

"Double damn," she spat, glaring at the spot where the monster had been. This thing was merely toying with them, or it was secretly afraid and kept running like a coward. She couldn't be sure which.

Upon inspection, Izayoi realized that most of the bones in her hand were shattered and her forearm was oddly stiff.

She bit her lip in pain and shook her head, annoyed.

"Alcohol won't fix that," Kain commented, kneeling down in front of her and holding out his hand, "Let me see,"

She reluctantly held her arm out and commented dryly, "I thought alcohol made everything better."

"Tolerable, but not better." Kain answered distractedly, turning her hand over and pressing against her fingers.

She hissed and glared at him, "Do you mind?"

He didn't reply, but she noticed his lips were moving to form quiet words. As she watched, a light covered both his hands and hers. Her bones snapped back into place with a few crackles and she winced as everything was set right and the light faded.

"Better?" he asked, letting go of her hand as she gave it an experimental flex.

Izayoi nodded but then shot him a look, "You know white magic,"

"Don't tell anyone," he replied quickly, "Healers tend to end up in the back dealing with whiney people who need to learn to walk it off."

Izayoi grinned, but felt compelled to ask, "Then why heal me?"

"Your right-hand dominant and I don't want to be the only person around here able to hold a weapon."

He stood and offered her a hand, which she took, mentioning as he pulled her to her feet, "I used to be left handed."

Kain seemed surprised, "What happened?"

She shrugged, "I shattered the bones in my left arm years ago. I got so used to using the other one that now I'm right handed. Plus, my left arm still feels a little stiff occasionally."

"Mm."

She frowned at him, "That sound is very annoying."

"Mm." he said again, and she thought she caught a small smirk on his face which only made her more irritated.

But then the monster reappeared and hovered in front of them eerily, probably ready to call upon the powers of death again.

Izayoi glared at it and took a deep breath, having enough of this creature and their current dilemma.

Her annoyance fed the magic she called upon, and, using the rest of her magical reserves she decided to finish this. If the ghost insisted on trying to avoid her pinpointed spells, then she would simply freeze _everything_.

The phantom tried to slide through a wall, but icy spikes impaled it and froze over the entire wall, trapping the ghost between rock and ice and encasing it. The rest of the cavern met a similar fate, glassing over with ice crystals until everything was covered and the area was transformed into a tundra.

Izayoi's eyes fluttered open as she exhaled and took in her handy work, pleased with the result and sparing a grin at the now frozen phantom.

"That seemed a bit…excessive." Edward commented, looking around while Rosa was frowning in disapproval.

Izayoi swayed on her feet, exhausted from the use of so much magic. She collapsed to her knees and caught herself with one hand on the ground before falling completely on her face, waiting for a dizzy spell to pass.

Maybe the bard king was right and that _was_ a little excessive, but it was also effective and definitely something her cousin would have done.

"Are you alright?" Rosa asked, sounding genuinely concerned. But then again, when _wasn't_ she concerned?

Izayoi nodded and waved a hand at her, trying to catch her breath, "I'm fine, just a little…light headed."

"You don't look fine," Edward said while Rosa continued to fret, "If I had some magic left, I'd give you a boost…"

Izayoi was about to assure them she was in fact fine and just needed a minute to rest when Kain commented, "She's fine. She can still move, so she should just walk it off."

By all rights Izayoi should have been annoyed by his remark, but instead she laughed and glanced up at him, exclaiming, "You are such a _jerk_."

"Mm."

She chuckled even harder at that, earning a funny look from the other two members of the group.

Kain grinned and at least offered a hand to help her up, but she just climbed to her own feet and flicked her hair at him.

"Let's get out of here before ghosty decides to phase out of my ice."

They all agreed to that plan and began picking their way carefully over the cold cavern towards the nearest exit.

* * *

**Yes, so...here is...this. I don't even know what to say. Above is stated why this is here.**

**Obviously takes place during TAY, and if anyone cares the boss/ghost is Deathgaze. I was looking up bosses (Since I haven't actually played this game) and he was the first one I checked out for this story. I discovered he does run away from the battle and is found as a random encouter. Served my purposes for this story perfectly.**

**The thing with Tellah's ghost was completely Mythweaver's fault...a joke, we came up with. But really, what if spoony was the only one who could see him and kept seeing him throughout the game? (Fruitcake!)**

**Yes, Kain learns white magic in TAY, but...I don't know, he just...doesn't seem like the type of person to be like "Oh yeah! Let me get that injury for you." Nope, not seeing it...**

**This fic isn't..._exactly_ a pairing but...I'll admit it; I'm kind of liking this pairing I started. Ha, and here I thought I'd avoid ever being a shipper...**

**Anyway, hopefully this was at least fun for a quick read. I'll be working on my other stories as well, of course.**

**So long everyone! (For now)**


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